<p>So far... I can read notes, play some christmas songs. Frankly, its a pain in the ''you know what''. I am not going to give up, its just so difficult. I know crying won't help either, I am stuck. sigh.</p>
<p>It's always annoying in the beginning. Work towards a goal of a certain piece or something; my teacher forces me to learn lots of classical stuff, but what I really love is finding pop stuff online and learning that. And composing some pop-y stuff. It gets better as you get more into it, trust me.</p>
<p>better, really? Is that possibe?</p>
<p>You get major props for starting to play so late. Although I do think you learn faster if you can already read music, you know what a scale is, and you have a little other music background.</p>
<p>Major props? so late? wth? Are you saying its too late to learn, play?</p>
<p>Piano is the most amazing instrument ever invented. DO NOT GIVE UP! Once you get through "the dark stage" (FYI, I think everyone who plays piano goes through this stage. I know I definitely did), you'll end up being much more motivated to practice and eventually become pretty good at it. GOOD LUCK :)</p>
<p>WOOT!^
Dark stage!? sigh.
How long did it take you to be good mrclassicfreak?</p>
<p>There def is a dark stage, however mine happened at about 3-4 years in when my first teacher left ;(. </p>
<p>Definitely get a good teacher who gets you excited to play and really helps you play. Also, make sure you have good hand technique to START. Mine was really bad-and it took so long to fix when I finally had a good teacher who noticed my hands were blue! </p>
<p>Oh, and this is something to look forward to: Broadway shows literally have the funnest piano music ever created. Get RENT out and you'll feel like a virtuoso.</p>
<p>Rent? I have no idea what your saying.....</p>
<p>How good are you anyway?</p>
<p>Haha the dark stage... good times...
And definitely stick through it, being able to play the piano is one of the most valuable abilities, IMO</p>
<p>applesauce can read my freakin mind.</p>
<p>RENT...the long-running Broadway show by Jon Larson...you know, "La Vie Boheme", "Seasons of Love", that song with 525,600 minutes?</p>
<p>I'm pretty good, I've been taking a mini-break b/c I've been sick...when I was a freshman, I got an A on my state's highest level piano exam...if you want an example.</p>
<p>How do you apply for that type of stuff Anon?</p>
<p>Yeah, Anon, how do you register to take those exam things? I've played piano since first grade (10+ years) and I've heard of them but don't really know much about them...</p>
<p>In Canada, we have something called Royal Conservatory of Music examinations. I'm currently going through Performer's ARCT diploma (very last level) and I had to study my ass off for all the music theories and histories. (And I STILL need to write about 3 more theory exams to receive my actual diploma :P)
Emm.. I think I had my dark stage during my early freshman year, when I just couldn't move on with my repertoires (stress/lack of practice). Get through it as soon as possible. Make sure you practice SLOWLY at first, then speed up when you know you're gonna get all the notes right. I know this is uber boring, but it really helps; especially if the piece is a relatively fast one.</p>
<p>Um, you should google, "Your state music exam" or equiv to get your piano exams...also, ask at your public school about piano exams. (I took NYSSMA, NY's system of like 6 levels)</p>
<p>Oh and to the person above me, good luck! I read about how crazy competitive that last level of canada is! My teacher (she's a performer, and she got a little lazy/wouldn't move on with me) got that level when she was ten...! yeah, she's great at piano.</p>
<p>Aww couldn't find anything on google. Sorry, if it's no problem though, do you know of any websites that would point me in the right direction?</p>
<p>Anon<em>Person</em>1, can you send me the sheet music of something similiar to the level of your previous state exam?
Much appreciated.</p>
<p>Just a side note, I really, really, really hope you're paying attention to the recommended fingering on piano pieces. I know how CCers will blast me for this, but hear me out. </p>
<p>Just because you think you know what fingers to use where, you really don't. I've been playing for seven years, and I would say that's my biggest problem. I learned to play piano myself when I was really young (like 5-8 years old) since my parents couldn't find a teacher with any openings. Then when I finally got into lessons, I found out the purpose of those little numbers on top of the notes. USE THEM! It's really hard to fix the bad habit of using just any fingers, and when you get into high-level stuff the fingering becomes extremely important.</p>
<p>In case you don't know anything about this (I didn't), I'll give a few quick tips. </p>
<p>1)Finger #1 is the thumb on either hand, and Finger #5 is the pinky on either hand. You can figure the rest out yourself.</p>
<p>2)Generally avoid putting your thumb on a black key.</p>
<p>3)If you have to invent a fingering, make sure that whichever you use is consistent. You'll get much better at playing piano much quicker if you use consistent fingering.</p>
<p>4)No matter how stupid the recommended fingering is, USE IT! I always try to argue my case with the composer, and it never works. The sheet music is ALWAYS right.</p>
<p>Not all music has recommended fingering written in, especially pop music. However, you need some practice with using the tiny little numbers, because they can make or break your song.</p>
<p>^ So obvious..lol</p>